My last year with carefree taxes
January 30, 2011
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| WORDLE! |
With every 1099 that pops up on my screen, with each box I check off on my list in the “For Tax Filing” folder, my excitement grows. I’m going to get my taxes out of the way soon!
Stacking Pennies and Well-Heeled shared my excitement on Twitter but mostly (or only) because they both knew they were getting money back; I’m a fool who’s just excited to get them done solely to have them done. It’s the excitement of crossing the finish line, and chucking the folder, never mind the penalties potentially associated with filing when you aren’t expecting a refund.
Adding to the weird tingly eagerness is the knowledge that this may be the last year I have a relatively simple tax situation. It just dawned on me, as I was doing the 1099-dance a couple weeks ago, that PiC’s taxes are always still lingering incredibly, disconcertingly late in the year. When I commented on this, he mentioned something about “complicated” and “extensions” and I’m sure there were other words in between but the buzzing of denial quickly set up shop in my brain. Not quickly enough to prevent me from realizing – *sob* – we’re going to have to file together, late, once we get married. (Technically, that should make me savor this last filing, one supposes.)
Now … I’m not saying, that I’m going to put off the wedding as long as I can so as to enjoy as many years filing head of household as possible, I’m just saying I’m going to miss nearly being able to do my own taxes.
To be honest, previous years weren’t entirely my own work. I cheated because I only handled the dry run and double (triple) checking the forms after they came back from the family CPA, but there was still satisfaction in knowing whereabouts the numbers should fall.
After marriage, let’s just say these eyes can’t handle that much crossing and still be good for anything.
Is anyone else happy to deal with their taxes this year or any year? Does the bliss of having them out of the way make it worth the trouble?
Yes, I like getting it done but I usually get a refund. It’s like some sort of puzzle to solve. I do my and Snork Maiden’s separate tax returns as there is no joint filing in Australia. You know you can file as “married filing separately” in the US but I think you probably end up paying more tax in most cases.
I don’t mind too much once I get started and yes, the relief is immense, but no, I still don’t get excited about it! You can always file separately, you know, even if you are married. Must admit to some concern about your polar opposite approaches to money. I think that can cause you a lot of heartache in the future. Hope I’m wrong, but please be careful.
Oh gee, taxes. We can actually start doing those in a couple of weeks. Better tell the spouse it’s time to put them on the to-do list…
I like getting mine done because I get a refund. But they are not simple. 2 years ago, I had almost every Schedule of the alphabet to file (Sch A, B, D, E etc).
Thanks for the link! I do also like getting them done, but I’m waiting on a 1099-Misc for T. He has totally screwed up my simple taxes of the past.
(And you probably know this, and don’t seem to be considering it anyway… but married filing separately disqualifies you for a lot of things, but most importantly, a Roth IRA. At least I’m pretty sure this is true)
I don’t mind doing taxes. I do all the taxes at my household because my husband fears the IRS more than public speaking and death combined, and high levels of anxiety /= well prepared taxes.
@mOOm: Yes, I’m not going the “filing separately” route as that’s even more complicated. I’ve looked into it and it’s not worth it.
@Shelley: Polar opposite approaches between PiC and me or my bipolarism? Both exist, but my bipolarism (either I get really fired up or I just don’t care) kind of works to bridge the gap a bit on one side and he’s learning to meet me in the middle from the other side a bit.
It’s still a learning process for both of us, though. We talk about it a lot as I try to make sure it’s not a huge bone of contention.
On the taxes front, though, it’s actually because he’s got a far more complicated tax picture involving family business income that I don’t want to hear about because I’ve got a mental hang-up about family money and money that’s not earned by me. At the end of the day, I’m just going to pick our own new CPA here, and resign myself to no longer having the taxes done by Feb 10th. 🙂
@nicoleandmaggie: so you’re saying it’s not fizz and giggles then … ? 🙂
@Karen: Holy moly. Yes, that’s just not worth wading through yourself.
@stackingpennies: Yeah, I’m not going to bother with the separately thing, it’s not worth the trouble and (dis)qualifications. Plus he itemizes and that’ll force me to itemize, etc.
@The Lost Goat: Oh most definitely, anxiety makes for the ugly tax season.
When we got married, the marriage penalty was still in effect. Our low incomes combined made us ineligible for deductible IRAs (Roths did not exist at the time) and, shockingly, we owed quite a bit.
The last few years for me have been a bit of a pain because I was playing catch up with the taxman. But this year I’m actually looking forward to getting it out of the way I don’ think I’ll get much back but it’ll be nice to have it out of the way and I might even take a stab at running the numbers myself.
By the way congrats on the impending wedding (I haven’t been around for a while)
Let me preface this by saying I know it sounds awful…
I hate that Mr. Red and I will be doing our taxes together this year. His are much more complicated than mine, and last year, I got $2,100 while he got $300 or so. Now I have to share my glorious refund with another person? That blows.
It will be interesting to see what my taxes are like in 2013. That will be my first year as a non-student filer – no more education credits for me! At that point, I’m going to focus on getting my refund as close to $0 as possible. That money can be used in my budget!
I don’t get money back any more, but I HATE having stuff linger over my head. It drives me mad… I kind of get excited to get it all down on paper though 🙂
Finishing taxes is always a relief for me. I’ve been doing them on my own since I was 18. I’ve always gotten a refund so I imagine that’s part of the joy, but I like the feeling of accomplishment that I can handle all the forms on my own!
Sadly, with my move, I’m waiting for most of my forms to arrive. Last year at this time, I believe I had all of them except for a tuition form. This year, I’m waiting on a W-2 from my job in Minnesota.
No no! I am totally with you. For my personal and the taxes for http://www.financiallydigital.com I am more than happy to get them off my desk and off my conscience. I’m an unlucky one though even though I pay quarterlies I still end up paying a little more but just being done is worth it 🙂 Great post!